The major labels now serve one function: they're scaling machines with networks, infrastructure, and capital. But make no mistake, their primary value to the artist is applied pressure.
A well-managed business extracts maximum value from its assets, and in this equation, you're the asset. Excessive touring, writing and travel has been known to push many artists to breaking point, draining creative energy and impacting physical and mental health. They're not evil; they're simply playing the game correctly from their position. They optimize and extract.
Understanding this asymmetry is the first step toward choosing whether that exchange truly serves your long-term interests or merely converts your creative sovereignty into someone else's balance sheet.
It’s also worth noting that labels operate on power laws. The few breakout successes subsidise the many that fail. In fact, Chris Anokute, Katy Perry’s A&R Manager. Reveals that most artists are “Tax write offs” for major labels. This isn't unique; many industries function the same way.
When you stop generating returns for the label, your support evaporates while your contractual obligations remain unchanged. The capital dries up long before the terms expire, leaving you on the shelf, unable to release music or pursue new opportunities. You've traded long-term optionality for short-term resources, a bad trade that compounds over time. The fine print never mentions that your freedom has a shorter expiration date than your contract.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Many independent record labels offer a good balance of business structure, network and financial support and there are a few artists I know signed to majors (or their subsidiaries) that are very happy with their arrangements.
To this end, my recommendation is the following:
If you're starting out, begin independently. Build your base, understand your audience, master your craft and learn the business. The supposed “barriers” that labels sell as necessities have crumbled, they're selling solutions to problems that barely exist anymore.
Network? Everyone worth reaching is a few clicks away; most never reach out because rejection feels personal when it's just math.
Knowledge? The gap between insider and outsider information narrows daily, especially with AI demolishing information asymmetries.
Financing? Traction is the new currency, show momentum and watch distributors, platforms, and angels compete to fund you.
Motivation? That's the ultimate non-commodity. No one can give it to you, but systems can protect it from depletion.
The leverage points have inverted: labels need hit-makers more than hit-makers need labels.
Obviously this is highly simplified. So don’t berate me with all the complexities and nuances. This is just to say that the music industry is undergoing massive reform. Major labels and traditional gatekeepers aren’t irrelevant but they are no longer an essential part of building a successful music career.
If after making the push as an independent artist you still want that label deal? Go ahead, but understand your dilemma: labels now only sign artists who've already proven they don't need labels. They want traction first, then they offer contracts.
The game requires you to build independently before they'll offer to 'help' you scale what you've already built. You'll make the indie push regardless, the only question is whether you'll trade your hard-won leverage once you have it. The moment you're valuable enough for them to notice is precisely when you should reconsider if you need them at all.
Already artists operate independently by default. Soon they will be choosing labels strategically rather than from necessity. The transition is a natural shift in leverage. When the means of production, distribution, and audience-building sit in your pocket, the equation fundamentally changes. The creator who owns their distribution owns their destiny.
